Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa names brother Mahinda as PM

Sri Lankan President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa on vember 20 named his elder bror and former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa as new Prime Minister after incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe anunced his resignation from post following election debacle. Mahinda, current main opposition leer, will assume duties soon after incumbent Wickremesinghe steps down formally on Thursday, AFP reported.

political crisis of 2018

Mahinda was appointed Prime Minister on October 26, 2018, by n President Maithripala Sirisena, who sacked Wickremesinghe in a controversial move that plunged country into an unprecedented constitutional crisis. He resigned in December as two crucial Supreme Court decisions me former strongman's efforts to cling to premiership untenable. apex court later unanimously declared that dissolution of Parliament by Sirisena was "illegal".

Decisive campaign to end civil war

Mahinda won power in 2005 and went on to become South Asia's longest-serving leer. He became country's youngest-ever parliamentarian in 1970 at of 24. two brors led a decisive campaign that helped end island nation's three-dece-long civil war against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Earlier in day, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe anunced his resignation, days after ruling party's candidate lost presidential election to Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa defeated Wickremesinghe's deputy Sajith Premasa.

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Wickremesinghe stepped down

In a special statement in Sinhala langu, Prime Minister said that he h met President Rajapaksa on Tuesday and discussed future of Sri Lanka's Parliament, Colombo Gazette newspaper reported. He said that while his Government still has majority in Parliament it was decided to respect mandate given to Rajapaksa at Presidential election and step down.

"I will step down to allow new president to establish a new government. I will officially inform him of my decision tomorrow," Wickremesinghe said.

He has been leer of United National Party (UNP) since 1994 and served as Sri Lanka's prime minister for a total of three terms. He was under pressure to quit and handover government to opposite camp after Rajapaksa won presidential election on Saturday. UNP leer faced a revolt since Premasa's defeat, a regular occurrence during last 25 years whenever UNP lost a major election. 

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Demands to make Premasa successor

Harin Fernando, a minister from party's younger brige, told reporters that y want Wickremesinghe to quit party leership and name Premasa his successor for both party leership and post of main opposition leer. "We will form our own party if he did t make necessary changes this time," Fernando told reporters. re will be a caretaker cabinet of 15 members to run government until Rajapaksa will be constitutionally able to dissolve parliament after February 2020.

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